


Sunday Morning Sticky Fingers

by yehwellwhatever



Series: Mission Insane [4]
Category: American Idol RPF
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-28
Updated: 2012-08-28
Packaged: 2017-11-13 01:57:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/498169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yehwellwhatever/pseuds/yehwellwhatever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sunday mornings with Archie and the twins are David’s favorites.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sunday Morning Sticky Fingers

David wakes up suddenly, feeling two very sticky sets of tiny hands on his body. One set is shaking his bare shoulders and the other is all but slapping him in the face. From the doorway he can hear the sound of his husband chuckling. “Arch?” he says as he sits up, voice rough with sleep.

“Daddy, we made pancakes,” one of the twins say. David _thinks_ it’s Sam, but he’s not sure without his glasses. It’s something that Archie teases him about all the time, that he can’t tell a difference between their own kids. The twin bounces on the bed twice and jumps down on the floor before David has time to react.

As he fumbles for the glasses on the bedside table, David can feel the other twin climb up his torso, sticky hands going everywhere. “Hayes,” he says as he finally gets his glasses so that he can tell them apart. “Your hands are sticky. Go wash your hands, okay?”

Hayes gives him what Archie calls the _well duh_ look, a look that apparently David is an expert at. “We made pancakes, Daddy,” he says, repeating his brother’s words. “Hurry _up_.” Hayes bounces on his feet, sticky hands holding on to David’s shoulders.

“All right, Hayes,” Archie says, his head appearing over their son’s shoulder. “Let’s go back downstairs so daddy can get ready, okay?” He grabs Hayes around the middle before the three-year-old has time to protest. Leaning down, he kisses David on the corner of his mouth. “You’re sticky.” His face scrunches up in an adorable way that makes David chuckle. “Take a shower, I’ll keep the pancakes hot for you.”

David runs the fingers of his right hand through his hair as he watches his husband carry his son out of the room. He loves days like these and the fact that their schedules only allows them about ones a month makes them even more special. As he gets out of bed, he winces as his bare feet comes in contact with the wooden floor, he winces. He’s been trying to convince Archie for years to put in carpet in the bedroom, but have been shot down every time.

He grabs a shirt, underwear and a pair of sweats blindly on the way to the bathroom. The squeals from the kitchen travels up the stairs and through the open bedroom door, making David smile as he closes the door to the bathroom behind him. As he showers, David catches himself humming the theme song to Spongebob Squarepants – a sure sign that he’s been spending enough time with the twins lately.

He scrubs himself clean the best he can as he’s sure that there will be more sticky handprints before breakfast is even over. Barely out of the shower, David jumps as there’s a knock on the bathroom door before it slides open. “Come on, daddy!” The clothes tells David it’s Sam. “You promised you would be right down.” Sam pulls at David’s towel and very nearly gets a good enough grip to remove it. Fortunately the shower has sharpened David’s reflexes.

“Hey, hey.” Securing the towel again, he takes his son in his arms and turn him upside down before blowing raspberries on his bared belly. “I thought you were waiting downstairs, buddy.” Settling Sam on his hip it only takes seconds until Sam’s tiny hands are pulling his hair. David really hopes it’s just a phase, because he’s been known to pull hard enough for strands of hair to come out.

Taking a firm grip on Sam’s hand, David gets him to let go of the hair. Sam makes a displeased sound and as David sets him down on the floor again, he sees the scowl. David gives him the same look back, not backing down. “Sorry, Daddy,” Sam says, sticking his left thumb in his mouth.

“Don’t do that again, okay?” He watches Sam nod, thumb still in his mouth. “I’ll be right down, I promise. I just need to get dressed.”

“Okay daddy,” Sam says around his thumb. After he’s looked at David for a few seconds, he nods to himself before he turns around and runs out of the bathroom.

“Hey, no running with your thumb in your mouth, Samuel!” he calls after his disappearing son. He thinks he can hear a faint “sorry daddy” as he starts to get dressed.

When he gets downstairs he just stops and stares in the kitchen doorway. It looks more like a war zone than he’s ever seen it. “Uhh…” He doesn’t know what to say.

“Oh, you’re ready,” Archie says as he looks up from what he’s doing. There’s a rag in his hand, so David guesses he’s trying to clean up. Trying and failing.

“Yes…” David looks around the kitchen, glad that he doesn’t have to clean the mess up. “You actually let them help make the pancakes?”

“How else are they going to learn?” Archie sounds a little defensive, but he must have seen something in David’s face because he back pedals. “I let them help with the batter, I’m not stupid.”

David breathes a sigh of relief. “Well, good. I’m all for them learning, but I think using the stove is a little too early. And, you know, knives. They’re only three after all.” Like he needs to point that out to the father of his children. He will be the first to admit that he’s a little overprotective over Hayes and Sam, but he knows that Archie would never do anything as careless as that.

“I know, Cook,” Archie says, flashing a smile at him over his shoulder. “I was there when they were born, too, you know.” He sighs exasperated, before picking a plate of pancakes up.

“I know, Arch,” David says, walking into the kitchen and kissing Archie as his husband puts the plate of pancakes on the table. “Sam! Hayes!” Opening the fridge to take out the maple syrup, he pauses as his hand touches something sticky. Bringing the hand to his face, he first sniffs and then licks off the sticky substance. The sweetness on his tongue tells him the rest of his family already used the maple syrup. “I was wondering what the sticky substance all over the twins hands were.”

“Oh, gosh,” Archie says. “I thought I’d gotten all of it.” David half expects him to hide his face in his hands. “We might have gone overboard with the syrup? The pancakes are really good though. I know that because we had to make two batters because Sam and Hayes ate half of the first one.”

“Archie, you’re babbling.” David tries to keep his smile in as he leans into Archie for another kiss. Once he’s got his husband distracted, he puts his hands up, cupping Archie’s cheeks. It’s only a second or two before Archie pulls away, sputtering.

“Oh, gosh, Cook!” Archie frowns up at him. “Now I’m all sticky.”

“Hayes! Sam!” David calls, grinning at Archie. “What are they doing? Samuel came up nagging me to hurry. I thought they were hungry, but seeing as they ate half a batter – with maple syrup, it wouldn’t surprise me if they’ve fallen asleep after the sugar high.”

“They’re watching Spongebob, I think.” Archie shrugs as he looks around the kitchen. “I had to keep them occupied when I cleaned up. Or at least tried to.”

“I’ll go get them.” David offers, because he knows that Archie will be dragged into the show if he goes. For some reason Spongebob Squarepants is the only cartoon that Archie likes and David can’t stand. It’s often the other way around. He claps his hands together. “Right after I wash my hands.”

Sure enough, the twins are practically glued to the beanbag in front of the TV. Their eyes are bigger than David has seen them in a long time, and they’re watching Spongebob Squarepants. “Hey, guys,” he says, keeping his voice a normal level. “Thought you wanted to have pancakes, isn’t that why you dragged me out of bed?”

There isn’t even the slightest twitch to tell David that they’ve heard a word he said. Not that he was expecting it, but it would have been nice to know that they were listening to their dad. “Okay then, I guess I’ll have to eat all of those delicious pancakes myself. I might share a couple with your papa, because at least he listens to me.”

Not even that gets a reaction out of them. David doesn’t know why he thought it would have. “You know,” Archie says from behind him, making him jump ever so slightly in surprise. “Maybe we should just eat in here. It is Sunday after all, and it used to be our tradition before the kids came along. Whenever we were in the same city for more than two minutes at a time, that is.”

Turning around, David sees that Archie is already carrying a tray stacked with plates and cutlery, as well as the plate of pancakes and the bottle of maple syrup. “I do miss those days,” David says. “But I’m really thankful that they’re over. At least mostly over. When you’ve been away on tour, it’s given me time to miss you.”

Archie tilts his head, biting his lower lip in the way he does when he’s confused or thinks he’s missing a joke. “So what you’re saying is you want me to leave you alone with the kids more often?”

“What I’m saying,” David says, keeping his voice deliberately low as he steps closer to his husband. “Is that absence makes the heart grow fonder. When you’re away it makes me realize just how much I love you, and that I sometimes take you for granted.”

David watches as Archie’s face goes blank before shifting into all different kinds of emotions before settling on the trademark Archuleta grin. “I love you, too.” He glances over at the twins for a moment before looking back at David, the same grin still in place as he speaks in a much lower voice. “And tonight, when we’re sure the kids are asleep, I’ll show you just how much.”

“Promises, promises Archuleta,” David says, wiggling his eyebrows.

The look on Archie’s face as he passes him with the tray is the same expression he had when they were about to go live on Idol. Challenge accepted.

Following Archie into the living room, David picks up one twin on each arm. Both of them immediately starts kicking and screaming, but stop just as quickly when he drops them down on the couch and settles between them.

“You two gonna eat your breakfast?” he asks, looking from one twin to the other. “Or do we have to turn off the TV?” The mutual chorus of “pancakes!” is not unexpected. Archie keeps saying that they get their ability to put away food from their daddy, but David knows better. All anyone has to do is see Archie eat Thai food to know that that gene comes from both of them.

They’ve barely started eating when Archie gets up without a word. “Where are you going?” David calls after him.

“Calling Brooke,” Archie says, waving his phone around. “She owes me a favor, I thought today was a good day to collect.” He’s not too thrilled to be left alone with a couple of three-year-olds eating pancakes drenched in maple syrup in the living room, but knowing that it will be worth it in the end makes it all the more bearable.

By the time the Cook-Archuleta family finishes their breakfast, they’re all covered in maple syrup all over again and in need of another shower. David does most definitely not turn Archie down when he offers to clean the kitchen _and_ the living room if he will just give the twins a bath. In fact, he goes through the whole process with a smile and doesn’t even flinch when Sam gets shampoo in _his_ eyes, making them sting for half an hour afterwards.

**The End**

**Author's Note:**

> Written for mission_insane @ LJ, based on the prompt _Maple Syrup_ for [Un-Themed Table #1](http://community.livejournal.com/hekissedaboy/21058.html#cutid3).


End file.
